Finding Hope
by J.Lynn.o5
Summary: Those around me, they've forced me to believe I was someone I wasn't, and have made me question who I've become and who I would've been, had I known the truth… There are instincts buried deep beneath my veins that make me a servant to the moon and a slave to the smallest droplet of blood. Hope Rivers is what they called me; but now? Now I don't know who I am anymore.
1. Finding Hope: Prologue

**Finding Hope**

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**Prologue**

_Legend says, "Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey"._

_Papa never told me why this legend was so important to know, but he did tell me that I should never forget it. Said it was something that would make a lot more sense as I matured and reached my late teenage years. I'd always respected his lectures and his words of wisdom; but to be honest, I never really gave them much thought._

_Native American tribes such as mine, the Athabascans, they always believed the past lectures of our ancestors held the solutions for future generational problems. If ever we faced an issue that we could not seem to resolve, we should seek refuge in the wisdom of those that have lived before us._

_I never thought I'd get to a point where I'd ask them. Where I'd beg for someone to help me; for someone to guide me in the right direction. Hell, I don't even know if they'd listen to me, or if they'd even try to help at all. I mean, it's not like my blood is compatible with theirs... it's never been._

_Everything I ever thought I was, no longer is. Everything I thought I knew about myself and my family is now a complete blur. It's like the world is spinning all around me, and I am stuck in the middle… screaming at the bright full moon, pressured to choose which direction I shall follow._

_I'm lost and confused, and hurt. I don't understand how I couldn't have known, why it never hit me? All those feelings of solitude, those feelings of being different, the emptiness I'd feel when I'd stair out at the moon lit sky; how did I not recognize the signs?_

_My family, or the people I thought I shared my heritage with, have kept something so sacred from me. Something that prevented me from knowing the truth for seventeen years. They've forced me to believe I was someone I wasn't, and have made me question who I've become and who I would've been, had I known the truth…_

_There are things about me that I'm not proud of anymore; things that I simply cannot believe are true. There are instincts buried deep beneath my veins that make me a servant to the moon and a slave to the smallest droplet of blood. I am the enemy I was forced to stay away from my entire life; the enemy I believed to be considered a monster, is right in the reflection of my mirror staring back at me._

_Ever since I was a little girl I've liked my steak rare, I've enjoyed the flavorful remains that would ooze out of the meat as you carved into it. Mama always told me it was because I held a hearty appetite, and it was because of that appetite that I was so healthy and strong. Why not speak the truth? Why not tell me that my desire for rare meat was not a mere healthy appetite; but rather a bloodthirsty desire of my inhumane and monster-like instincts?_

_It was all a lie._

_Every part of my being was untruthful. How can someone feel so foreign in their own body? So out of touch with reality and where they belong in it?_

_Rivers… Hope Rivers… that was who I was, or who I thought I was. But now I don't know who I am anymore. I guess I'm on the same journey everyone else has been following for all these years… _

Finding Hope

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**A/N: Please review :)**


	2. Chapter I: Vengeance is Coming

**Authors' Note:**** Thank you guys so much for the awesome response to the prologue. I'm glad you are interested and I really love reading the feedback, so please continue to do so. Here is the first chapter, I honestly really enjoyed writing in Rebekah's point of view. Hopefully I did her justice and her tone was represented well. Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy :)**

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**Chapter I: Vengeance Is Coming**

_(Rebekah's Point Of View)_

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I looked at Nicklaus from afar, his malicious stare burned right through me as he sat beside the crackling camp fire. Sixteen years later and I could still feel the sting, the deep feeling of disappointment, the harsh feeling of resentment he felt towards me. I couldn't blame him though, now could I? I let him down at a time when everything relied on me, when the only thing he ever cared about rested solely in the sanctuary of my hands.

I failed him.

"Rebekah, must you isolate yourself so far from us?" Elijah approached, asking with the deepest of sympathy, "distance does not repair tarnished threads"

"Yes, well neither does keeping company in a place you're clearly unwelcomed in Elijah" I retorted, not necessarily directing my frustration towards him, "He absolutely hates me, why should I stay where I'm unwanted?"

Elijah breathed adamantly as he took a seat beside me on the tainted tree stump, "Hate is a strong word Rebekah, perhaps irate would be more suitable?" I grimaced at his suggestion; clearly Elijah must've noticed how unrepairable Nicklaus's feelings were. There wasn't anything too strong about my choice of words; he hated me. It was clear as day. "You've found her, that's all that matters now. You're correcting a mistake you made. A mistake that was not entirely your fault Rebekah, it was an accident. Nicklaus knows this"

I appreciated my noble brothers' words of optimism; but none of it mattered. Even with my searching all these years for Hope, and my recent discovery of her location; it still didn't erase the fact that I'd lost her to begin with. That I allowed someone, a man, to let my guard down; to make me so vulnerable. It was my selfish desires that led to that horrible night… that led to my defining moment as a failure.

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**_...[Flashback - December 2014]..._**

_Micco was his name. He was tall, tanned skin; dark eyes that captivated me whole. He was one of the first people I met when Hope and I arrived to Port Townsend, Washington. _

_It was a small town, very calm and quiet, consisting of about nine thousand people total. I chose such a place because it felt quite secluded from the outside world… it felt safe. In a town most have never heard of, I figured Hope would no longer be in danger. We could get a small house by woods, and she could grow up with at least a tiny bit of normalcy in her life, considering her very eventful life thus far. _

_She was 11 months old when we finally finished settling into our little cabin by the woods. I was rather proud of my decorating skills at the time; modernizing up the place and making it very comfortable and family-like. I had never given much thought to raising a child before, unable to reproduce and all that; however, Hope had quickly, in the very short time she and I spent together, had become my one and only priority. I didn't have to be her mum to understand the love I had for my darling niece. _

_Hopes' first birthday was in just a couple of days, and I wanted to make the anniversary of her birth special. We didn't know very many people in town, so I wasn't going to throw any kind of parties; but nonetheless, an enjoyable cake, along with an overload of colorful balloons would do the trick._

_We made our way into town the day before. It was cold as ever and the wind was howling. That was only downside of Port Townsend; the weather was rather dreary most of the time. As we approached a small bakery and I carefully tried to maneuver the baby stroller through the door, Micco approached us on his way out, and held the door open for me, releasing my struggles. _

_"__Thank you" I said briefly. He was a handsome man, and I tried my best not to blush as I walked past._

_"__You're very welcome" he said with a nice bright smile, "She is adorable by the way," he knelt down in front of the stroller to say hello to Hope. Normally I would have been weary of anyone so close to her; but something about him came off very friendly and welcoming. He stood back up and extended his hand towards me, "I'm Micco. Are you new to the area?" I placed my hand in his for a short second; but released it rather quickly when he tensed a little. "I'm sorry, your skin… it's just so soft. I'm a masseuse, I notice those sorts of things", he laughed and I didn't feel so worried any longer._

_"__Well I'm Rebekah, and yes, we are relatively new to town" I said with a pleasant smile, still trying not to socialize too much as I began scoping the glass cases filled with all different flavored cakes._

_"__Ah. Well I can hear from your accent that you originate from Europe. That's nice, I like it. We don't see too many newcomers in this town, especially anyone with a heritage outside of Washington State, let alone a different country. It's a nice change", I smiled, but did not respond and simply went about my business. He stood there for a few seconds, watching us. I could tell that he'd like to chat a bit longer, but I was so hesitant to get too close with anyone, for Hopes' sake that I did not reciprocate. However, Micco proceeded, "The raspberry vanilla is amazing by the way, if I had to suggest any flavor to try, it would be that one", he pointed to the delicious looking cake on display._

_I glanced over at him, he now had completely abandoned his desire to exit the bakery all together; obviously very interested in making friends with me. Hesitantly I cleared my through and once again gave a pleasant grin, "Well, raspberry vanilla it is then. If you proclaim it is so delicious, than I mustn't pass it up." A small snicker left his mouth, and I had to admit; I was a tad bit smitten by him at that point. _

_"__Well I promise you, you won't regret it" he assured, and then stared down at Hope once more in the stroller, "I'd love to hang out sometime with you Rebekah, and I can show you around town, you and your daughter"_

_My mind went blank for a split second and I almost found myself replying that she was not mine; but thankfully I caught myself, "Really, thank you for the offer; but, I'm a little busy at the moment. Lots of unpacking and getting settled, you know?"_

_Micco nodded, sure not to pressure the question any longer, "No, I completely understand. Maybe we'll run into each other another day in the near future, when things have eased up for you and you're not so busy anymore"_

_I smiled, "Maybe"._

_"__Well, I better get going. It was nice to meet you Rebekah" he then kneeled down to Hope again, grabbing a hold of her hand gently, "and it was nice to meet you as well." I didn't think anything of his friendliness; actually I found it rather nice to have an adult conversation with anyone really. The prior eleven months had been nothing but baby talk and the occasional phone calls from Elijah, Nicklaus, and Hayley. It was an understatement to say I was feeling a bit, lonely._

_"__It was nice to meet you as well Micco" I simply replied as he returned to a standing position. He gave one last nod before exiting the shop, turning to look back one last time before closing the door behind him._

_I would be lying if I said I wasn't secretly hoping I'd run into him again. He was extremely attractive and seemed like a genuine person. Key word… seemed. One should never underestimate someone simply by what they perceive them to be, I learned that the hard way._

_About a week or so later, I'd run in to Micco again; this time at the nearest supermarket. We made quick conversation again; but, as I did in the bakery, I tried my best to carry along. However, after that, I seemed to be running into him almost every other day. While walking in town, while retrieving my mail from the nearest post office, even while visiting the local car sales place to trade in my beloved two-seater for a more 'mother-like' vehicle. It was like everywhere I'd gone, I'd seen him. I perceived it as some kind of sign from the universe that perhaps I should give this guy a chance; however, words cannot simply explain just how wrong I was in thinking so. _

_I finally gave in, and after half a dozen run-ins, I allowed him to join both Hope and I for a nice day at the local children's museum. He met us there at opening time, and we had a rather nice afternoon; Hope explored the many baby mazes and exhibits, and Micco and I chatted the entire time. We talked about our plans for the future; he spoke about his childhood growing up in some reservation just west of town. He was very welcoming to me, and after feeling isolated for so long, I guess you could say I was entertaining the attention I was receiving. _

_Before leaving, he asked if Hope and I would like to join him for dinner the following night at a nice restaurant not far from our house. I agreed, without hesitation and basically spent the entire night thinking about it afterwards. Yes, I was naïve and rather oblivious to the suspicion of his wanting to get to know us so intensely; but I was so sick of being alone, being an outsider once again and hiding from everyone, that I fell deep into his love lust trap. I had run my entire life, trying to stay hidden from my father for so long that I just simply hated having to do it all over again. I loved Hope dearly; but the constant fear of being detected was a dreadful thing to live by. _

_The next evening, Hope and I met Micco at the restaurant. 'Blue Sunday' was the name, and it was an amazingly beautiful French restaurant with a view of the cliffs right outside the large windows. At first I feared that Hope would not cooperate sitting for so long in such a nice place, being that she was only a year old; however, Micco made me feel extremely comfortable and assured me that it would not be a problem if we needed to leave early for any reason. _

_Surprisingly, Hope did exceptionally well and we stayed for the entire duration of our meal, as well as desert. Again, we enjoyed conversation about all different things, and he went out of his way to make me feel adored by his many flattering comments regarding my outfit and hair. The attention and my increasing interest in his personality led to my inviting him back to our home for coffee. I wouldn't have normally done so, after all, I was trying to keep our home hidden from everyone, against us or not. However, I was really enjoying Micco's company, and decided to completely go against my own rule._

_One arriving back home, Micco waited patiently for me to set Hope down for bed in her room. Once she was fast asleep, I joined him in the living area. We talked for about another hour over coffee, before he kissed me. _

_At first I wasn't sure whether or not to continue; but it just felt so right. I really found myself taking a liking to him. Our kiss grew stronger, and as the passion pressed onward I felt his hand slip underneath my dress, softly grazing the skin of my bare thigh. _

_I should have stopped him, I should have made him leave; but something inside me fought against my better conscience. There was no turning back, the heat of our bodies multiplied and before I knew it we were in my bedroom and completely unclothed. _

_Things turned intimate rapidly, and we enjoyed, or I thought we enjoyed a very emotional connection as our bodies became one for quite some time. It was one of the best I'd ever had honestly, and not long after we both drifted to sleep, naked in each other's arms. Once again, I should have never allowed Micco to stay, I should have never allowed any of it to happen and I will regret it for the rest of my eternity. _

_Hours later, as the sun was just beginning to graze over the horizon, I opened my eyes and without hesitation I stretched my arm behind, looking for the soft skin of the man I'd had such a wonderful night with. But to my dismay, I felt nothing but the cold sheets beneath my hand. _

_Instantly I sat up, looking around the room in confusion. Where had he gone? His clothes were no longer on the floor, and there wasn't any trace of his sent left in the room. Instantly I felt used. Another deceiving man who obtained the one thing he wanted and leaving me to feel like some worthless prostitute who gave it up too easily. _

_I stretched myself out of bed and grabbed a long T-shirt from the dresser drawer, still mentally scolding myself for being so easy._

_As I exited my bedroom, I glanced over at Hope's bedroom door. It was closed, just as I left it. I made my way towards the kitchen area and then the living room area, double checking just in case he was still around; but he was gone. It was official. What we had was nothing more than a pitiful one night stand. _

_I was just about to go into the bathroom to take a shower and try to wash the shame off of my body, when I suddenly felt a wave of nervousness overcome me. Why didn't I smell Hopes' scent? Since I'd woken up, I hadn't sensed her at all. Feeling a little concerned, I quietly creaked open her bedroom door and made my way towards the crib. _

_Nothing could have prepared me for the helplessness I felt the minute I seen an empty crib with nothing in it besides her soft purple blanket. My heart honestly felt as if it stopped beating in my chest and every bit of anxiety rose to the point that I could no longer breathe. _

_I was panicking and I didn't know the first thing to do. I had no clue how to respond. Nothing but fear, failure, and nervousness filled my mind. I clenched on to the bars of the crib as I felt myself hyperventilating. _

_"__Hope!" I shouted, as if she'd answer me or magically reappear in her crib like nothing happened._

_My knees were shaking and I tried to pull myself forward as fast as I could, racing to my cell phone in the other room. I felt my breathing starting to shallow as my fingers desperately slid across the screen searching for Elijah's name._

_The phone rang. It rang and rang, and it felt like hours before he finally answered._

_"__Hello Sister" Elijah's voice flooded my ears._

_"__El- Elijah" I breathed heavily._

_Instantly his tone of voice changed, "Rebekah? What's the matter? What's going on?"_

_"__Elijah, she's gone…" I felt myself beginning to collapse on the floor, "Hope, I can't find her. She's gone!"_

_The conversation continued, most likely with Elijah panicking and asking a hundred questions; but I simply don't remember the rest of the conversation. Everything in the room was spinning, and my heart was racing so fast that I my body felt completely numb. _

_How could I have been so stupid? How did I not see this was all a trap? She was gone, and it was all because of me! I absolutely hated myself. I despised every part of my being._

_It was by far the lowest point of my life._

**_...[Flashback over]..._**

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"Rebekah?" Elijah's voice brought my thoughts back to current times, "Rebekah did you hear me?"

I shook my head no, the pain of that dreadful day still burning so intensely in my heart, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you"

"I said that you mustn't hold on to your guilt any longer. That man took advantage of you; he took advantage of your kindness to get what he wanted. When we find out where in Alaska Hope actually is, we will find Micco as well, and he _will_ know the same pain we have all felt these last sixteen years, even if I have to make sure of it myself."

I looked at Elijah with an agreeing nod. If there was anyone that was going to seek revenge on Micco, it was me. "Oh, trust me brother. I've already thought of the ways I plan to make him suffer for the rest of his dreadful life. He's going to wish he'd never stepped foot in that bakery sixteen years ago"

Elijah knew I was determined, and I was not going to give up until I did just as I said. Vengeance was coming for Micco, and it was so close I could _taste_ it...

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**Don't forget to review! Good or bad, I appreciate it either way.**


	3. Chapter II: I Am Hope Rivers

**Chapter II: Hope Rivers**

_(Hope Rivers POV)_

**_Authors' Note: _**_S__orry it's been so long, but thank you to those who have reviewed and are still reading. The story will be in Hopes' POV from this point forward, and it occurs the next morning after chapter I. Hope you enjoy :)_

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"Hope!"

The words seemed to seep through the comfort of my deep sleep, and I could feel myself fighting against it. The best place in the world was underneath those blankets, tucked all around with the top of my hair just barely peeking out of them.

"Hope, I'm not going to say it again, you need to get up for school! Let's go!"

And there it was… I was awake. Mamas' voice always had a tendency to completely rip me away from my happy peacefulness of slumber.

"Alright, I'm up" I groaned from underneath the covers as the smell of freshly cooked eggs and ham seeped through the opened bedroom door.

"Well, hurry up and get dressed, you're going to be late" she yelled from the hall.

School was torture, utter and complete torture. I didn't even understand why anyone had to go anyway. It wasn't like we were going to use any of it in the real world; I mean square roots, equations, what was the point? Unless I wanted to be some world renowned architect or some mad scientist or something, it was completely pointless to spend all that time learning it.

My feet were always the first things to drop off the side of the bed, my toes on an urgent search to find the warmth of my cozy brown slippers. I hated the cold on my feet, and the floors of my bedroom were always freezing.

Pulling myself up, I barely lifted my head forward before a huge yawn escaped my mouth. I was so tired and I immediately brought my hands to my eyes to block the sunlight beaming through the window across from me. The curtains were pinned up on the sides and the blinds spread open as wide as possible, another one of mama's very irritating tactics to get me out of bed in the morning. I instantly wanted to drop backwards and hide myself away from the cruel, cruel sunlight; but then I'd really hear mama's wrath.

Sluggishly peeling myself from the bed, I made my way towards the bathroom and took a long look at my bed ridden, mascara stained face. I always said I was going to start washing my makeup off my face before going to sleep at night; but the idea always seemed great when it wasn't actually time to do it.

I splashed my face with cold water, grabbing a hold of the rag hanging next to the sink and gently wiping it against my skin to remove any residue of makeup from my skin. Leaning back up to towel dry my face, the red blotches began to appear as they did every morning. I never really understood why I was the only one in my family to have such sensitive and fair skin. I always assumed I'd gotten the shit end of the stick when it came to it, because everyone else had such nice tanned color, a true Native American skin tone. But, nope, not me, I was always the black sheep.

Grabbing my makeup bag from the drawer, I slipped my dark eyeliner out and carefully began applying a thick line across my eyelid. I'd always liked wearing darker eye makeup, because it made my eye color really stand out. That's another thing I had that was very different from the rest of my family, although this attribute I enjoyed. My eye color was very light, a mix of yellow, green, and gray, and sometimes even a hint of blue. My friends often told me they reminded them of the great white wolf eyes, the ones that glow when the sky is dark enough. It was actually a pretty cool comparison, being that I thought wolves in general were simply beautiful. Their long silky coats, and the way they would stand with such confidence, they were unbelievable creatures. Most people were scared of them, but not me, not in the least. They were just like everyone else in this world, all other animals and humans alike. They protected their packs and their passion derived from family and yearning to survive. There was nothing that made them more evil than anything else in this world.

After applying the last stroke of mascara to my lashes, I quickly ran a brush through my hair and slipped back out of the bathroom, returning to my bedroom to get dressed.

Mama was waiting for me as I finally finished and approached the kitchen. "Here baby", she handed a plate of eggs and ham to me, following with a small glass of orange juice, "eat up".

I took a seat at the table and began sipping some of the orange juice into my mouth when a cold burst of wind blew through the half-opened kitchen window, causing goose bumps to spread across my arms, "I hate the cold" I muttered and Mama quickly moved towards the window to shut it.

"It's very windy out today", she said as she pushed it down tightly, "make sure you wear extra layers". I nodded, but I instantly noticed the concern on her face as she gazed out the window at the freshly grounded snow that seemed to fall the night before.

"Something wrong?" I asked, taking another bite of my breakfast.

She didn't look back towards me, just seemed to continue her gaze. "The weather today… it seems strange, like a new moon is approaching"

I rolled my eyes without her seeing. I knew my heritage was very into the whole 'the earth sends signals to warn you of troubling times' stuff, but to be honest, I thought it was all a bunch of crap. "It's nothing different from the weather we get everyday" I said, with a bit of sarcasm, I really did hate the cold.

Mama gave me a sideway stare and then shook her head instead of responding, "you should get to school Hope, finish up".

I shoved the last bit into my mouth and downed the remaining orange juice before getting up and grabbing my coat off the hook behind me. Mama walked over and gently placed a kiss on my forehead before collecting my dishes from the table, "Have a good day, and keep warm"

"I will" I said simply as I pulled my coat on, wrapped my big wool scarf around my neck and face, and slipped on my very warm sheep skinned boots. Mama took another look out the window and I could tell she had some kind of bad feeling, but to be honest, I didn't really care, and she was always so overly superstitious.

…

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Slushing through the cold snow on my way down the hill was pretty annoying. The outsides of my boots were getting more and more soaked with every step and I could feel my socks beginning to dampen. Thankfully I brought an extra pair in my book bag, but that didn't help that my shoes were going to be completely drenched by the time I got to school. The walk wasn't always that bad, and the school wasn't too far from home. It was all within the reservation; but my boots were just so worn from all the winters snow this year that I really needed to get new ones. Thankfully I was stopping at Ty's house on the way there, so hopefully his younger sister would have an extra pair of boots or something I could borrow.

Ty was my closest friend on the reservation, hands down. His real name was something crazy, with close to ten syllables in it, but to make things easier, everyone just called him Ty. It was less frustrating for us and him both. Thank goodness my parents didn't give me some crazy Native American name, I would've hated it.

As I finally turned the ben towards Ty's house, my feet were so cold they felt like ice. I knocked on the door in desperation and waited until his younger sister Kayla opened the door.

"Hey Hope, Ty said he'll be out in a sec" she said before beginning to step out the door, probably leaving to head to school herself.

"Hey Kayla, can I please borrow a pair of boots? I'll put them on when I get to school so they won't get wet; but mine are soaked"

Kayla looked down at the darkened boots on my feet and raised her eyebrow, "Yeah, sure" she said before quickly returning back to the house to get a pair. I wasn't waiting long before she returned with a nice brown pair of wool lined boots, "Here, just don't ruin them. I just got them" she handed them to me and I began stuffing them into my schoolbag.

"Thanks Kayla, I won't" I said, and she smiled before heading down the steps.

Ty appeared in the doorway seconds later, "Are you ever going to get new boots?" he joked as he shut the door behind him and I swung my schoolbag back onto my back.

"Shut up" I snapped back as we headed down the stairs, "I will, eventually"

Ty's chuckled briefly, but eventually turned a little more sympathetic, "Your dad's still having a rough time at work, I take it?"

I just shrugged, not really answering and Ty knew not to keep the conversation going. See, Papa was an auto maintenance worker, kind of like a mechanic; but with all the snow we'd had over the last five months, business was slow. I could tell he and Mama were struggling financially, so I really didn't want to burden them with the cost of new boots, when they technically just bought mine not too long prior. Micco, my older brother and Sierra, my sister in law, were trying to help them out as much as they could; but they also just had a baby a few months before, so they could only do so much.

"The first tournament of the Ice Hockey games are tonight, you going?" Ty broke the silence that seemed to seep up momentarily.

"I don't know, you really want to go to that?" I said without any excitement what so ever, "A crowd of jocks screaming 'go left, go right' in my ear all night? Not really my idea of a fun time"

"Ah, come on' Hope, it's the first game of the season! We always go together!" Ty pleaded.

"Yeah, and every year I force myself to go, just to shut you up" I said with a sarcastic tone but quickly rolled my eyes and changed it once I saw the disappointment on Ty's face, "Okay, okay, and I'll force myself again this year, just for you"

Ty smiled and then gently nudged my shoulder, causing me to lose my footing for a second before regaining my balance again, "You better"

I just laughed; but inside I knew that Ty's wanting me to go was way more than just an annual tradition of two best friends. He had a thing for me; it was really obvious, although I never pointed it out, only to spare him his embarrassment. But I knew. However, I was never really sure what my feelings for Ty were honestly. I mean, he was my best friend, I knew him since we were five years old, we did everything together and I trusted him with my life; but the thought of being 'boyfriend/girlfriend' with him, kind of freaked me out.

It wasn't that he wasn't good looking, he was. He was actually very good looking, and I heard most of the girls on reservation had a secret crush on him. Between his height of almost 6'2 and his darkly toned skin and deep brown eyes, girls practically worshiped him. But I always seen Ty differently, he was more than his good genes, he was a goofball, and he knew how to mess around and keep me laughing. He knew my moods, and when I was lying. And not to mention, he knew how much of a goofball and a fool I could be. I wasn't sure after all that, that I even be able to bear the thought of actually kissing him or anything… it just wasn't like that.

I discreetly shook the thoughts out of my mind before Ty noticed my silent pondering, and we finally approached the front of the school. It was the only thing on the reservation that actually looked quite modern. Layered with red bricks and white foundation, it was practically foreign compared to the other buildings in the reservation. I was only built like ten years prior and supposedly the only reason the people allowed such a modernized structure is because they wanted to use it as an emergency shelter also during the really cold parts of the dead winter, when others may not have the necessities to keep warm on their own. However, it was school… and nothing was spectacular about school… at all.

"Alright, I'll catch you at lunch?" Ty said as we approached the doorway, right before our usual split off to our classes.

"Yep, see ya' later" I said before turning right and anxiously making my way towards the girls bathroom, so I could get the soaked socks and boots off my feet and switch into Kayla's.

Right as I made it to the bathroom door, I was stopped by a taller blonde woman, baring a very bright white smile and perfectly red lipstick, "I'm sorry, excuse me?"

I turned as her hand gently tapped my shoulder, and I couldn't help the look of confusion I had on my face. I'd never seen this woman in school before, or on the reservation. She was unfamiliarly pale and seemed very, very out of place if you asked me, "yes?" I said with the kindest tone I could find in my voice.

"I didn't mean to startle you" she said, her smile still stuck on her face and a very intriguing English accent escaping her mouth, "I am filling in for a Mr. Dubai today, and I cannot seem to find his classroom. Do you know where that might be?"

I had to admit, her accent was kind of distracting. I felt like I barely processed what she was saying, because I was so concentrated on the unusualness of it. "Um, yeah. It's on the second floor, in the Math wing. I, uh, I'm actually heading there in a second if you want to wait, I can show you?"

She smiled, "Oh, that would be great. Thank you", her eyes traveled down to my water soaked boots, "your feet must be cold in those"

"Yeah, they kind of are" I said, almost embarrassed that she'd noticed, "I'll be out in one second, I have to change them"

She nodded and I quickly escaped into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Pulling the extra pair of socks and Kayla's boots out of my bag, I quickly made the swap, the entire time wondering what an English woman was doing filling in for a teacher on an Indian reservation… it was really weird.

I finally returned to the hall, where the blonde woman was still patiently waiting for me. I gave a half smile and we began walking, "So are you from England or something?" I asked, not realizing how blunt that came out.

She chuckled a bit, "Yes, originally; but I've been here, in America for a very, very long time", I nodded, feeling a tad uncomfortable as I felt the woman examining me from the corner of her eyes, "I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name?"

"Oh, it's Hope… Hope Rivers, and what's your name?" I quickly corrected myself, "I mean, your teacher name?"

Her face furrowed in confusion, "Teacher name?"

"Yeah, you know, teachers only use their last names, like Mrs. So and so"

"Oh" she laughed again, "Well in that case, I am Ms. Mikaelson"

I nodded and we continued on our way up the stairs.


End file.
